The year 2022 was not only challenging economically and politically: the health situation this year had a significant share after the re-emergence of Ebola and cholera, and the entry into a state of emergency regarding monkeypox , and even Corona “isn’t done” yet.
And the United Nations has warned that Corona remains a global concern, while outbreaks of cholera, Ebola and monkeypox have led to the mobilization of health and relief workers to contain disease and save lives.
In addition, the United Nations has warned that the goal of eliminating HIV (AIDS) by 2030 is in jeopardy, but a new vaccine has raised hopes that malaria could be defeated.
And the world’s population, tired of the chaos caused by Corona, had to deal with a new, highly contagious mutant at the beginning of the year.
Omicron mutated and beyond
This variant has spread across Europe, resulting in a record number of weekly cases, although the number of deaths was relatively low compared to previous outbreaks, according to WHO. United Nations News.
Although many countries have begun to ease lockdowns and other restrictions on movement, the World Health Organization has indicated that the disease remains a threat. As of August, one million coronavirus-related deaths had been recorded.
During May’s World Health Assembly, the first to be held in person since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries not to abandon caution.
He told delegates: “Is Corona over? No, it’s definitely not over yet. I know that’s not the message you want to hear, and it’s definitely not the message I want to get across.”
Goals of eliminating AIDS astray
In 2021, there were 1.5 million new HIV infections and 650,000 AIDS-related deaths.
A report released in July showed the rate of decline in HIV infections slowed to 3.6% between 2020 and 2021, the smallest annual decline in new HIV infections since 2016.
On World AIDS Day in November, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 is off track.
This year has seen encouraging developments in drug therapies: in March, the first dose was launched in South Africa and Brazil to provide long-term protection against HIV, as an alternative to everyday medications.
And you appreciate World Health Organization In a recent report, the number of infected people is around 430,000 in the Middle East, and these numbers continue to rise due to lack of medical tests and prevent some from detecting the infection.
The World Health Organization estimates that about 14,000 of the 430,000 people infected in the Middle East are children. This is in addition to that newly infected adults and children with HIV is 42,000.
Ebola
In April, health workers were mobilized to fight an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the sixth outbreak in the past four years.
“We can rapidly change the course of this epidemic for the better because we have effective vaccines and the experience of healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in responding to Ebola,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.
As of mid-November, 141 cases and 55 deaths had been confirmed in Uganda, and the World Health Organization confirmed it was working closely with Ugandan authorities to speed up the development of new vaccines, according to UN reports.
Cholera returns to Haiti and threatens the Middle East
As the security situation in Haiti continued to deteriorate, cholera returned to the volatile country in October, as a deteriorating health system and insecurity made it difficult for infected people to get treatment.
And Haiti wasn’t the only country affected by this bacterial disease: An outbreak in the Syrian city of Aleppo in September was attributed to drinking unsafe water from the Euphrates River and using contaminated water to irrigate crops, which has contaminated food.
The disease broke out in Lebanon after an absence of thirty years, and in November it spread throughout the country.
monkeypox
The World Health Organization has done its best to allay fears that monkeypox could become similar to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, noting that most infected people recover without treatment within several weeks.
However, as global cases soar, WHO declared in July that monkeypox was a “public health emergency of international concern”.
As of December, more than 80,000 cases had been reported in 110 countries, with 55 deaths.
An important breakthrough in the field of malaria
In August, UNICEF announced that pharmaceutical giant GSK had won a $170 million contract to produce the world’s first malaria vaccine, raising hopes of ending the disease.
Malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases for children under five.
